Injectable hydrogel that captures residual cancer cells
This technology is an injectable gel material designed to be placed into the cavity left behind after a tumor is surgically removed. Once injected, the gel attracts remaining cancer cells — including hard-to-eliminate cancer stem cells — drawing them into or near the gel where they can then be destroyed using an external stimulus such as ultrasound or another energy source. The gel is engineered to have a specific stiffness range that mimics tissue and encourages cancer cell migration toward it. The approach aims to catch residual cancer cells that surgery misses, potentially reducing the chance of recurrence at the surgical site.
What you could build
A combination injectable biomaterial and adjuvant treatment protocol used immediately following tumor resection surgery, sold to oncology centers and surgical oncologists as a one-time-use device/drug combination product to reduce local recurrence rates.
Who in Virginia should care
Oncology-focused medtech companies, surgical device firms, or cancer research institutes in Virginia — including those affiliated with academic medical centers like UVA Health or VCU Health — would be natural partners or licensees.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Zerin Mahzabin Khan, Scott S. Verbridge, Timothy E. Long, Eli Vlaisavlijevich
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed February 16, 2023
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20230310609A1
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.